Does spelling count on the GED essay?

GED prep students often ask, "Does spelling count?"

The answer is sometimes no, sometimes yes.

No. If you make only make a few spelling mistakes, it will not affect your grade. After all, this is draft writing, and the essay readers don't expect your essay to be perfect given the limited time frame.

Yes. First, if you misspell many words in your essay, especially the most commonly misspelled words (see below), it will lower your grade. However, if your ideas are well organized, you may still pass the test.
Second, if your spelling errors prevent the essay reader from understanding what you meant to say, then yes, spelling errors will affect your results.  In this second case, it is likely that you will not pass the essay test.

Some spelling mistakes are worse than other spelling mistakes. Try not to make spelling errors on words in these following categories.

1. Any words given in the prompt.
     Some students begin their essay by restating key words from the essay prompt. If you do this, please be sure to spell these words correctly.  Sometimes students hurry to write their essay and don't pay attention to the spelling of these words, and they end up making avoidable spelling mistakes.

2. Any commonly misspelled word--such as possessive pronouns and common homonyms. You may find some of these errors on the multiple choice part of the test. Be suspicious when you see them.
Notes:
     a.  Possessive pronouns never have an apostrophe  (his, hers, ours, yours, theirs, its)
     b.  Always read contractions as two words--and you won't make a mistake.

     its         possessive pronoun         The dog wagged its tail.
     it's        contraction-  it is               It's (it is) too late to go to the movies.

    your      possessive pronoun          This is your notebook.
    yours     possessive pronoun          Is this notebook yours?
    you're    contraction- you are         You're (you are) going to get a good report.


    there     adverb-location                Put the flowers here and there. (here hides in there)
    there's   contraction- there is          There's (there is) never enough time to write an essay.
    they're  contraction-  they are        They're (they are) going to put the flowers here.
    their      possessive pronoun          The heirs got their money from their rich uncle.
    theirs     possessive pronoun          The money was theirs.

    to       location                               Henry went to the garden.
    to      with verb                             He went to pick flowers.
    two    number                               Sally bought two plants at the farmer's market.
    too    also                                     Henry went to the farmer's market, too.

3. Any plurals and possessives (nouns that show ownership need an apostrophe)
     When students learn about apostrophes in school, they commonly begin to use apostrophes on every word that needs an s.  Gradually, though, they learn the difference between plurals and posssessives.

      plural nouns (meaning more than one)    horses, schools, students, bloggers

      and possessive nouns (meaning ownership)  Mary's horse           Henry's school

   Be careful: things can show ownership:          the horse's tail       the school's auditorium 

4. Noun plurals    While there are a number of rules for forming noun plurals, only the most common ones will be listed here. You will not likely need the others.

        S rule- just add s          chickens, computers, cellphones, televisions
        Y rule- change Y to I and add ES     puppy    puppies
                                                                cherry    cherries      
                                                                candy    candies

        SS, SH, CH, and X Rule- add es
                                                                boss     bosses      
                                                                brush    brushes    
                                                                church  churches   
                                                                box      boxes    
     
5. Verb endings
   Essay writers generally write in the past or present tenses. If you write your essay in the past tense, make sure that every verb has a past tense ending. If you write in the present tense, make sure that every verb has a present tense ending.  Do not switch tenses in your essay.

The most important rule about adding verb endings is about when to double a consonant before adding the ending. Double the ending consonant if it follows a vowel (a, e, i, o, u).

plan  planned     get      getting     win    winning        hop   hopping    run   running  

6. Abbreviations
     Remember, your GED essay is not a text message, a Facebook posting, or a blog posting, so do not use any abbreviations.  Also spell out number words under ten.

While there are many more spelling rules, these are the most basic. If you master these, you should be okay on the essay test. Also, there are only  a few spelling examples on the multiple choice part of the test, so don't try to memorize long lists of spelling words. That won't help. Just master these basic rules.
      





 

GED Students Carry a Patchwork of Misinformation

Personal problems. Health problems. Attendance problems. Motivation problems. Parent problems. Money problems. Boyfriend/girlfriend problems. Drug and alcohol problems. Even the dog-ate-my-homework problems. GED students have problems. All of these problems, and more, contribute to their lack of engagement in the educational process.

Whatever their reasons, struggling and unmotivated students slide through the educational system, miss critical instruction, and end up with a patchwork of misinformation. Twenty-year-old Charley spouted this rule when he misspelled "receive": "Use i before e except on words that end with y." This patchwork of misinformation becomes a handicap to academic success.

How does does a teacher work with these struggling and unmotivated students and their patchwork of misinformation?

First, and most important, recognize that behind the facade of that seemingly bored student sitting nonproductively in your classroom is a complex person who has a host of legitimate reasons (in his or her mind) for not doing class work or homework. Look beyond attitudes, and you will often find surprising interests that can be used to develop writing skills.

Second, look for signs of improvement and give positive reinforcement for ideas and writing attempts. Don't focus on every error. Many of these students have failed continually throughout their school years, and they are discouraged, and maybe even angry. Some may only be in your program now because they have been ordered to be there by the court system. These hard-to-reach and hard-to-teach students need mega doses of sincere encouragement.

Third, try to tailor your instruction to their immediate instructional needs. Analyze their writing and identify their most common errors and start there. Don't try to work through every error. Build a learning log as you go along and record what you do so you can do rapid reviews.

Helping struggling students improve their writing skills won't be easy. And it won't be fast. But it can be done. In the process, by helping them earn their GED, you will contribute to their life-long well-being. Pat yourself on the back for that. It is a worthy accomplishment.

Look for specific instructional strategies in future blogs.

(Note: Mina Shaughnessy used the term "fragments of misinformation" in her classic book Errors and Expectations: A Guide for the Teacher of Basic Writing, 1977.)

GED Writing Test--High Stakes Testing

GED students of all ages may never be great writers, but they deserve a chance to improve their skills and their lives. Given their motivation and determination, teenagers and adults who join GED programs often make rapid progress when given appropriate support and instruction.

The GED is authentic high stakes testing for them. Studying for and passing the GED shows their commitment to improving their own lives. It shows they have reevaluated their stance on education and realize that it is criticial to success in life. They often express regret about time wasted in high school and mistakes made.

Passing the GED gives these high school dropouts a second chance. It means getting a better paying job or being released from court supervision. It also gives them a boost in self-esteem.

Evelyn, a twenty-year-old single mom, expressed it this way: "Before I came to this GED program, I had no plans for the future. Since I started these classes, I've learned that I'm smarter than I thought, and now I can make plans for me and my child."

Failing the test condemns high school dropouts to the status quo. Worse, it often condemns their children to social and economic conditions that perpetuate poverty.

The GED test is authentic high-stake assessment.